US20070164595A1

US20070164595A1 - Position structure for a level-adjustable armrest

Info

Publication number: US20070164595A1
Application number: US11/307,004
Authority: US
Inventors: Ching-Hui Chi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-19
Filing date: 2006-01-19
Publication date: 2007-07-19

Abstract

A position structure for a level-adjustable armrest which comprises a driving member, a sliding member and a spring, and those three members are all mounted in an adjusting tube. When the user adjusts the height of the armrest, it will pull the sliding member so as to push the protruded portion from the pressing surface to the surface of the protruded block, so that the engaging member will be rotated limitedly, and the protruded block will be removed from the adjusting groove completely. Thereby the driving member will not be engaged with the engaging member and the semicircle member, and the driving member and the armrest sheath will be removed to the adjusting tube accordingly so as to adjust the height of the armrest.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an armrest structure, and more particularly to a position structure for a level-adjustable armrest which can adjust the height of the armrest so as to offer the support to the user's bended arms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are plenty of seats with an adjustable armrest thereof, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,309, the case of level-adjustable and swivelable armrest assembly. The practicing method for adjusting armrest of the invention is while displacing a following member along with a sliding member, the comparative inclined plane of the following member and the comparative side-wall are used to control the positioning member.
The sliding member will be pull while the user adjusts the armrest so that the positioning member will roll away from the position notch of an adjusting base so as to the positioning member will be shrink into the hole of the driving member, and the positioning member is located beside the comparative inclined plane of the following member.
After adjusting the armrest, the following member and the sliding member will be repositioned simultaneously, and the following member will be pushed to the positioning member against its inclined plane so that the position member will be roll out from the hole of the driving member and then the following member will be pushed against the positioning member by its side-wall, thereby the positioning member is engaged on the positioning notch of the adjusting base. Regarding to the U.S. patent mentioned by the prior art, it is using the inclined plane and the opposite side-wall of the following member to control the positioning member which is globularity-shaped so that the positioning member will be displacing by rolling. By such arrangement, it will make a lot of noises from friction and crashing of the positioning member while the positioning member is engaged or departed, thereby the products will be distorted after a long time of using.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a position structure for a level-adjustable armrest, which will not be any attrition or noises during the operating process and is much durable
A position structure for a level-adjustable armrest is comprised a driving member, a sliding member a spring, and a engaging member. The aforesaid members are all mounted in an adjusting tube. When the user adjusts the height of the armrest, it will pull the sliding member and the protruded portion of the sliding member will be protruded to the surface of the protruded block along with the pressing surface of the engaging member, so that the engaging member will be rotated limitedly, and the protruded block of the engaging member will be raised and removed from the adjusting groove of the base completely. Thereby the driving member will not be affacted by the engaging and position relationship between the engaging member and the adjusting tube, and the driving member and the armrest sheath will be removed oppositely to the adjusting tube so as to adjust the height of the armrest.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiments in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an assembly perspective view of a position structure for a level-adjustable armrest in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the position structure for the level-adjustable armrest in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a driving member in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of showing a sliding member, a pulling block, and an engaging member in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a cross section view of the sliding member;
FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an adjusting tube;
FIG. 7 is an assembly cross section view of the position structure for the level-adjustable armrest in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a cross section view of the lowest position of an armrest in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a cross section view of adjusting the armrest; and
FIG. 10 is a perspective view after adjusting the armrest.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a level-adjustable armrest in accordance with the present invention is comprises a connecting group 11, a tube 12, an armrest sheath 13, an armrest cushion 14, a adjusting tube 20, a driving member 30, a sliding member 40, a spring 50 and an engaging member 60.
The connecting group 11 includes a first connecting piece 111 and a second connecting piece 112, the connecting group 11 is overlapped and mounted on the side of a seat (not shown in Figs).
One end of the tube 12 is engaged to the connecting group 11 by a screw. The armrest sheath 13 is mounted on the tube 12, and one side of the armrest sheath 13 is defined with a hole 131.
The armrest cushion 14 is engaged to the armrest sheath 13 by a screw. The adjusting tube 20 is mounted inside of the tube 12, which is made of two semicircle members 21, 22, and the inner surface of the semicircle member 21 is axially formed with a plurality of adjusting grooves 211.
The driving member 30 is T-shaped. The longer end of the driving member 30 is penetrated and mounted in the adjusting tube 20, and is formed with a hook portion 31. The other two shorter ends are mounted on the armrest cushion 14 and the armrest sheath 13 respectively. A sliding groove 32 is formed in the driving member 30 against the side of the semicircle member 22. In the inner surfaces oppositely of the sliding groove 32 are formed a clipping portion 33 respectively, and a perforation hole 34 is defined in the bottom surface of the sliding groove 32.
The sliding member 40 is sliding assembled in the sliding groove 32 of the driving member 30, the top of the sliding member 40 is bended to form a connecting end 41, and the connecting end 41 of the sliding member 40 is penetrated through the hole 131 of sheath 13 and installed a pulling block 42. A hook portion 43 is formed at the end of the sliding member 40, a hole 44 is defined in the sliding member 40, and a protruded portion 45 is formed beside the penetrated hole 44 and faced to the bottom of the sliding groove 32.
The spring 50, two ends of the spring 50 are respectively positioned to the hook portions 31 and 43 of the driving member 30 and the sliding member 40.
The engaging member 60 is located between the sliding member 40 and the driving member 30. Each end of the engaging member 60 is formed with a post 61 and the engaging member 60 is connected with the clipping portion 33 of the driving member 30 by the post 61. An engaging block 62 is formed on the engaging member 60 facing to the penetrated holes 34 of the driving member 30, the engaging block 62 can be engaged in the adjusting groove 211 of the adjusting tube 20, and a protruded block 63 and a pressing surface 64 are formed on the engaging member 60 which is faced to the sliding block 40. The protruded block 63 can be passing through the penetrated hole 44, and the surface of the protruded block 63 and the pressing surface 64 are drive by the protruded portion 45 of the sliding member 40.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are a cross section view shown the lowest position of an armrest in accordance with the present invention. Since the sliding member 40 is restricted by the tension of the spring 50, the protruded portion 45 of the sliding member 40 is pressed against the pressing surface 64 of the engaging member 60, so that the engaging block 62 of the engaging member 60 is inserted into the penetrated hole 34 of the driving member 30 and engaged to the adjusting groove 211 of the semicircle member 21, thereby the driving member 30 will not be displaced comparatively to the adjusting tube 20, and the protruded block 63 can be inserted into the penetrated hole 44 of the sliding member 40.
When users adjusts the height of the armrest, it will pull the pulling block 42 up, and the sliding member 40 will slide up simultaneously for pushing the protruded portion 45 from the pressing surface 64 of the engaging member 60 to the surface of the protruded block 63, so that the post 61 of the engaging member 60 will be rotated with the clipping portion 33 of the driving member 30 (not shown in the Figs), and the protruded block 62 will be raise and removed from the adjusting groove 211 completely. Thereby the driving member 30 will not be engaged with the engaging member 60 and the semicircle member 21, and the driving member 30 and the armrest sheath 13 will be removed relatively to the adjusting tube 20 so as to adjust the height of the armrest.
During the operating process, the protruded block 62 will be raise and removed from the adjusting groove 211 of the semicircle member 21 completely, so that the driving member 30 will not be engaged with the engaging member 60 and the semicircle member 21, and the driving member 30 and the armrest sheath 13 will be removed relatively to the adjusting tube 20, thereby the engaging member 60 will not be rubbed with the adjusting tube and make the noises of rubbing and crashing so as to the present invention could adjust the height of the armrest quietly.
It is to be noted that when users' arms are put on the armrest cushion 14, the weight will be transferred to the driving member 30 and the sliding member 40. And the engaging member 60 is assembled on the clipping portion 33 of the driving member 30 with the post 61. By such arrangement, the protruded portion 45 will be pressed against the pressing surface 64 continually, and the engaging block 62 can be inserted into the perforation 34 and engaged to the adjusting groove 211, so that the driving member 30 will not be removed opposite to the adjusting tube 20.
While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, 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 position structure for a level-adjustable armrest comprising a driving member, a sliding member and a spring mounted in an adjusting tube, wherein:

a plurality of adjusting grooves axially form in the inner surface of the adjusting tube;

a sliding groove forms in one side of the driving member, in the opposite inner surfaces of the sliding groove forms a clipping portion respectively, and a penetrated hole defines in the bottom surface of the sliding groove;

the sliding member assembles in the sliding groove of the driving member, a penetrated hole defines on the sliding member, and a protruded portion forms beside the hole and faces to the bottom of the sliding groove;

the spring which is positioned on the two hooks of the driving member and the sliding member offering the sliding member to be repositioned after replacing;

the engaging member which is located between the sliding member and the driving member, wherein each end of the engaging member forms a post for connecting with the clipping portion of the driving member, an engaging member forms an engaging block that faces to the perforation, and the engaging block is engaged in one adjusting groove of the adjusting tube, and a protruded block and a pressing surface is formed on the engaging member facing to the sliding block, the protruded block passes through the hole, and the surface of the protruded block and the pressing surface are driven by the protruded portion.