Patent Application
20170066121
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to facilitators for maintenance and repair, and more particularly to a work stool.
2. Description of Related Art
For allowing automobile mechanics to perform works and access tools conveniently, some work chairs have been introduced, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D365,935. The known device has a support that adjustably holds up a cushion in terms of altitude. The support stands on a base. The base has its bottom equipped with casters and has its top formed as a tray for carrying tools. Such a chair is provided for a user to change his/her location without leaving the chair and to access tools in the tray.
Nevertheless, the known chair has its shortcomings. For instance, when the cushion is lifted to a higher altitude, the tray remains unmoved, and this makes the distance between the cushion and the tray increase, meaning that a user sitting on the cushion has to bend his/her body more to access the tools in the tray as compared to the case where the cushion is positioned low. Hence, the prior art needs to be improved.
The objective of the present invention is thus to provide a work stool allowing a user to access tools conveniently.
For achieving the foregoing objective, the disclosed work stool comprises a support that has one end provided with a cushion and an opposite end provided with a base. The base bottom has a plurality of casters. The support has a gas strut. A tray is mounted around the support so as to be positioned between the cushion and the base. A connecting assembly has one end fixedly connected to the tray and an opposite end connected to the gas strut so that a distance between the tray and the cushion is fixed and the tray is adjustable in terms of altitude by operating the gas strut.
As shown in the drawings, according to the present invention, a work stool comprises a support (10), a cushion (20), a tray (30) and a connecting assembly (40).
The support (10) has a central post (11). The central post (11) is a gas strut. The central post (11) has its lower end provided with a base (13). The base (13) has a bottom provided with a plurality of casters (14). In the present embodiment, the base includes four legs. However, the base may be alternatively composed of three or five legs, or composed of a foundation plate, without limitation. In the present embodiment, each of the legs is equipped with a caster (14).
The cushion (20) is attached to an upper end of the gas strut. The cushion (20) has a control lever (21) attached thereto from below, for controlling the gas strut to expand or retract. As the control operation is known as that performed on common gas-strut chairs, the details thereof will not be discussed in any length herein.
The tray (30) has a through hole (31). The tray (30) is mounted around the central post (11) of the support by means of the through hole (31) so that the tray (30) is positioned between the cushion (20) and the base (13). The tray (30) has a peripheral wall (32) surrounding its bottom, so as to form the tray (30) as a basin-like receptacle.
The connecting assembly (40) serves to connect the tray (30) and the gas strut together so that the tray (30) moves as the gas strut expands or retracts and is rotatable about the central post (11). The connecting assembly (40) is mounted around the central post (11) with one end fixedly connected to the tray (30) and an opposite end connected to the gas strut. With the connecting assembly (40), the tray (30) is adjustable in terms of altitude by operating the gas strut and is rotatable about the central post (11). In the present embodiment, the connecting assembly comprises a fixed ring (41), a rotating ring (42) and a plurality of connecting sticks (43). The fixed ring (41) is fixed to the gas strut. The rotating ring (42) has a through hole (421) whose diameter is smaller than an outer diameter of the fixed ring (41). The rotating ring (42) is mounted around the gas strut by means of the through hole (421) so that it is positioned on the fixed ring (41) and between the fixed ring (41) and the cushion (20). Each of the connecting sticks (43) has one end fixedly connected to the rotating ring (42) and an opposite end fixedly connected to the tray (30), so that the tray (30) is hung over the fixed ring (41) by means of the rotating ring (42) and is rotatable about the central post (11).
With the configuration given above, the disclosed work stool provides the cushion (20) for a user to sit, and the casters (14) below the base (13) enable the user to move the stool conveniently. Meanwhile, the tray (30) can move with the gas strut as the later expands or retracts. Where the gas strut retracts, the cushion (20) moves downward, and the tray (30) also moves downward to approach the base (13), as shown in
In addition, for furthering convenience and practicality in use, the work stool may be provided with lighting. As shown in
While the connecting assembly in the illustrated embodiment is composed of a fixed ring (41), a rotating ring (42) and a plurality of connecting sticks (43), it is to be noted that this forms no limitation to the present invention and the same function can be achieved by using, for example, a bearing and connecting sticks.
